My Equal
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: All he ever knew was right and wrong. Those who uphold the law are always right. Those who do not, are wrong. So, when betrayed by his best friend, the only logical solution is to kill him, right? Ah, if only. NaruxHinaxSaku. Romance, fluff, angst, AU.


**I am proud to announce that my ultimate purpose for joining this site has come to fruition. After a long, arduous year, I am offering a good number of my stories up for adoption, or continuation, as this will be the last new story I will EVER publish, until all the other's have been complete. PM me for a detailed list, and I will explain the general requirements, so on and so forth, etc.**

**Spire Killing Chaos I**

In Hueco Muendo, the days are long. The night's, infinitely moreso. There is no way to tell time, no way to record the countless millenia that had passed since the very first hollow had set foot upon its arid shores. It is littered with countless skeletons, both of the dead, and the betrayed.

Sleep is impossible here. Those few who dare to drift off into that forbidden dark are consumed by their bretheren. Yet should they live to reawake, those sad souls are in turn consumed, by the madness that dwells within the empty shell that was once called a human heart.

In this hellish wasteland, there is but a single rule. The weak will always die, and the strong will survive. The means to this ultimate end are unecessary, and inconsequntial. Alliances are meaningless here, and partnerships, short lived at best. If asked to desrcibe the home of all hollows, one would need no more than a word, unequal in its significance and magnitude, to give detail to this world of screams and sorrow.

Hell.

Peace is a foreign concept here, as alien as the nonexistent sun that never replaces the moon. One cannot survive through words alone here, but through _strength_, born both of body, and mind. And strength means little, oh so very little, if one does not possess _cunning_. Lesser gillian, those who lack such fortitude, are consumed by mindlessness, and denied their chance, no matter how slim, to regain any semblance of humanity.

Those who dare to have but a _sliver _of of the three, are honored here. Those who _command _such gifts, wielding them aggressively, yet cautiously, are the chosen few who will live to see their next moonrise. They, are the hollow who will surpass all others, even the vasto lorde, given time.

They are, the equal of shinigami.

_They are, the arrancar._

**_zzz_**

For the fifth time that night, the mountain spire spat golden light. In the brief flash of luminance, something screamed and plummeted to its doom, before being swallowed up by the blackness that surged at the base of the tower, breaking against the rock like a mighty wave. At the peak of this rock, a ragged looking youth stood, his hands darting about in an elaborate series of signs and patterns, each leaving a trail of white fire.

_"Hainawa."_

The shinigami spat eyes narrowing, vicious sapphire slits as the golden rope wrapped about a hollow's throat, denying it purchase upon the stone. With a frustrated screech, the hollow tumbled down the mountainside, struggling to break free from the electric cord. Scarcely had the adjuchas fallen, then another, larger hollow took its places, its giant form cutting through the mists as it roared from bellow, parting its jaws...

_"Soren Soukatsui." _

The shinigami glanced down at the approaching hollow, then flicked an open palm toward the approaching _gillian_, staring straight ahead as its mask inexplicably exploded in a burst of azure flame, the molten geysers striking a few of its comrades, and in turn, setting them ablaze as well.

As the towering creature tipped toward the ground, a pair of smaller, more humanoid hollow darted out from beneath its topling legs, springing up from the dying bodies of their fellows, to sustain a better vantage point. Suddenly, they had cleared the cusp of the cliff, and landed before him.

Startled, the youth in black drew back, surprise adorning his weather worn face. The embers of a dying fire struck at his bare feet, forcing him to pause and draw back for a moment, face filled with both disbelief and irritation. The pair of hollow hissed in elation, slowly gliding toward the boy.

"Finally have you, boy."

"You won't be so lucky this time, not without the rest of your...friends."

"We took good care of them, didn't we, bro?"

"Yes, yes we did."

"Nowhere for you to run now, shinigami." The first chuckled again, crimson eyes glinting in the dim light as it circled, blatant and uncaring, as it stepped over and upon the bodies of fallen soul reapers, gesturing to the sea of hollow that surged around them. "Nowhere for you to hide."

"Yes," The other clicked, its hands curling around what looked like a short dagger. "Easier to just give-

_"Raikoho!" _The shinigami bellowed mightily, thrusting one hand forward to explode in a column of fire. The first hollow saw the feint and lurched to the right, avoiding the worst of the blast. Its fellow was not so lucky, as the burst of lightning sheared off the left side of its face, killing it instantly.

"Bastard-

"Choke on your own impotence."The blond haired boy intoned solemnly, straightening up and raising two fingers with a most terrible spell. The remaining hollow screeched in surprise, but a coffin of black light was already closing around it, walling off any chance of escape as it swallowed the creature whole. Then came the spears. One after another, they drove into the solitary occupant of the coffin, eliciting horrible screams.

_"Kurohitsugi."_

The hollow screamed and unearthly scream as lance after lance of the deadly energies ripped into it. The soul reaper turned away, already warding off a winged hollow that had chosen that moment to strike. His moment of inattention would cost him. The hellish coffin lasted but for an instant instead of a minute, for the hollow was free, clawing its way out of the vortex with wild abandon. Swearing, the shinigami turned-

Too late.

"You're finished, shinigami!"

With a vicious cackle, it struck, carving a deep wound in the shinigami's unprotected flank. It had only a moment to laugh, for it perished not a moment later, its form slumping over as a ball of red fire sheared off the entirety of its skull. When he had determined that it was indeed dead, the shinigami swiftly kicked its evaporating corpse off the cliff. But the creature had spoke true, and the wound ran deep. Fingering his shoulder, the blond winced as his hand came away bloody. There was no time to treat the wound on site. He'd have to ignore it like so many other's.

_"Danku." _The blond snapped his fingers and five barriers, four surrounding him, and a fifth, to ward away aerial attacks, rose into place, walling him off from the world and the third hollow that now slammed head first into the foremost of the five walls. It created a minute crack. With a small sound of exasperation, the youth reached to his back, drawing a long katana with a blood red edge and black, hexagonal guard, ending in a white hiltwrap that gave the blade a rather unqiue appearance. Now, hollow upon hollow clawed their way up to him, frothing at the mouth for chance.

Knowing he'd be ripped to shreds if he remianed here, the shinigami unsheathed his blade. Just then, the five barriers shattered, and they were upon him, baying for his blood. Twirling the zanpakutou lightly in hand, he tipped it toward the ground, its red blade flashing a bright blue.

_"Reave."_

And the world exploded into gore.

_**zzz**_

"Buenos Dias, shinigami." A soft voice embraced his thoughts calmly now, drawing him away from unconciousness. "You must be wondering about the woman that carried you here. I had to separate her from you. She was very distraught and it was distracting me from healing you."

He nodded, slowly opening his eyes. He found himself looking at a slender woman in white robes, with the remnants of a Hollow mask around her right eye like a giant fan. He stiffened immediately, exuding the massive reaitsu that had been his ever present companion since his birth.

_Hollow_.

Yet there was something different about this Hollow. Her mask didn't cover her entire face, nor did she look monstrous. Aside from the mask, she looked nearly as human as he did, which was saying something. There were red stars under her right eye, and a violet diagonal mark across her right cheek. Her lavender eyes and dark, nearly jet black hair, weren't exactly the norm either, but for some reason, the shinigami let it slide.

The woman fidgeted a bit as he studied her, but managed to smile once he stopped emitting reaitsu. "You have many questions, shinigami. I understand. However, before you react...I mean you no harm. You were brought you here so I could remove the poison in your body."

"Poison?"

"You killed a vasto lorde." The woman explained quietly. "Some of them carry poison that they release as they feel themselves getting close to death. You took in a lot of that poison. I had to draw it out of you...your friend did not like this."

He looked down at his uniform, noticing how it was neatly put back in place. He blushed deeply, a sigh that made the woman laugh nervously. "I apologize for invading your privacy - I felt it was more important to keep you from dying than for you to hold on to modesty. Your friend was very much against exposing you."

"Where is my zanpakutou?"

"She is being held under guard, for her protection."

The blond frowned.

"Protection?"

Her gaze narrowed as she looked at him. "As I healed you, I realized that she is a spirit that has her roots in you. How interesting her reaction was when she encountered us. She carried you here, the poor thing, but collapsed earlier out of exhaustion. I had her healed by one of my assistants while you slept. She is very protective of you, shinigami."

Naruto nodded and tried to sit up more, but the movement was painful. The woman gently pushed him back down on the bed, though not with a small flush of her own. "Please rest. If it would make you more comfortable to see your friend, I will have her brought to you."

"May I ask your name, healer?"

The woman nodded. "I'm Hinata Hyuuga. And you, shinigami?"

"Naruto...Uzumaki Naruto." It felt odd to call himself part of the Uzumaki house, especially after how coldly he had been treated by grandfather, which was the reason dwelling on the matter made him so sullen. However, it was the only foundation he had to go on, so he continued on.

Hinata watched him for a few more moments, then snapped her fingers.

"Yes, lady?"

Naruto watched the woman smile at the assistant for a moment.

"Please bring the one that brought the shinigami here. Thank you."

Now, the shinigami knew a dismissal when he heard it, and so did the assistant. There was no reply except for a quick bow. When she flashed away, Naruto raised an eyebrow. It had been too fast for him to see just now, but he could have sworn that that'd been-

"Naruto-san."The woman permitted herself a small giggle."Shinigami are not the only ones that know how to move quickly. You call it shunpo, yes?"

"How did you know that?"

"You may not understand us, but we have a full understanding of you - for the most part."

"Yes, it's called shunpo." Naruto supplied warily."What do _you _call it?"

Hinata smiled shyly.

"_Sonido_."

Naruto was almost certain she was going to demonstrate, but she refrained. "We have a lot to learn from each other, Naruto-san. For now, rest. I will have your friend brought to you soon. That being said, may I ask you something?I-If you don't mind that is."

"Depends." The shinigami did not appear to be very forthcoming with his answer. Instead, he folded his arms and leaned back against the pillows, refusing to wince from the efforts that it took to do so.

"Just how long do you plan on staying here? I-In Hueco Muendo I mean."

"Awhile." The shinigami replied gruffly. "I can't go back yet, now that my friends are dead."

"Then I hope that you'll pardon me for asking, but...what on earth are you doing here in the first place?"

Naruto fixed Hinata with a frozen glare.

"Why, I'm here to kill my best friend, of course."


End file.
